OK, it was only one game. But for 48 minutes last night the Nets didn’t just look as if they could play with the best of the West, they made it look as if the West couldn’t play with them. Reversing the rout of the first meeting with the Kings in Sacramento, the Nets defended, ran, controlled – and won, 94-77, at the Meadowlands.

“Our guys did a great job setting the tone on the defensive end; that is always the cornerstone of what our team has been built on,” said Lawrence Frank, whose gang responded from a dreadful defensive game in Miami to hold the NBA’s highest-scoring team (104.4) to its season-low point total. “As a result, they were able to get transition buckets in the first quarter.”

And the second and the third and . . .

“It started with our defense. And then we had Jason Kidd making plays in transition,” said Kerry Kittles, who scored a game-high 24 points, eight of them in the first 3:45 of the third quarter, a session where the Nets’ 19-point halftime lead eventually hit 30. “We came out in the third quarter and we didn’t let up.”

There were numerous stars for the Nets (41-25). Like Richard Jefferson (19 points), who snuffed Peja Stojakovic to 11 points, 14 below his average. Like Jason Collins, who grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots while battling the Kings’ formidable post game. Like Kidd, who had 13 assists, eight rebounds and four points in 32 minutes and choreographed the transition that led to a frightening 30-6 edge in fast-break points.

But the guy who truly turned the game was Rodney Rogers – or “ROD-KNEE, ROG-ERS” as the crowd of 16,949 chanted. He scored 20 points but came in and knocked down six straight shots – including 3-pointers on his first three attempts.

His sixth basket produced a 43-15 bulge at 7:31 of the second quarter and pretty much insured the lopsided nature of the series would continue – the last five meetings have been decided by a 21.4 point spread, with the Kings winning three.

“I told them,” said Kenyon Martin (eight points, six rebounds), who returned from a one game ankle-sprain absence, “keep him in until he passes out.”

Rogers wasn’t the only one who impressed Martin. “Jefferson played Peja better than I’ve seen anyone play him,” Martin said.

“I didn’t want to leave him at all,” Jefferson said. “I was just in his jersey.”

Where the Nets were down, 60-28, at halftime in Sacramento Nov. 30, they were up, 26-9, after 12 minutes in the Swamp, making the Kings – who arrived at the arena late because of the weather – look as if they were still out in the cold. The nine points were a quarter low for the Kings (49-18).

“We played an awful game,” Kings coach Rick Adelman said.

“Sometimes you have these nights,” said Chris Webber (15 points), who started 1-of-9 and finished 5-of-17 from the floor. “All I can do is give their guys credit for the way they played and beat us.”

Although they denied it, this was a win for the Nets’ psyche. They entered 1-9 against the six Western teams that had a better winning percentage and 2-4 against the Pacers and the Pistons, the East teams with better records. That was 3-13 against the Upper-crust clubs.

“There are no statement games. This does not determine the NBA championship,” Jefferson said.